Once Upon A Time On Omega
by Magdelope
Summary: Aria comes face to face with some of the more unsavory parts of her home which changes the direction of her life. (Mentions child abuse) Aria/Tevos. Not following M E timeline by placing humans in the galaxy before their time. Probably includes spoilers.
1. Chapter 1 - Lucia

**Author's note: Okay, I have changed my mind, so this will be turned into a proper story. It will be Aria/Tevos filling a prompt I recieved a long time ago. Because of this I will change this one a little bit.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

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**Chapter 1 - Lucia**

The queen of Omega as sitting on her ordinary couch feeling particularly bored. The fights no longer enthralled her; the dancers no longer enticed her. Even the prospect of killing someone did not seem appealing. _You must be growing old, _the matriarch thought to herself. Not even calling Tevos to tease the asari councilor had put Aria in a better mood.

"Aria!" One of her Batarian underlings called her name. It caused Aria to raise one eyebrow but not really expecting anything exciting.

"What is it?" She said, not moving a muscle from her usual position on her famous sofa.

The Batarian walked forward dragging a small human girl with him.

"This little _human _was found trying to get into Afterlife. When asked what she wanted, as she is clearly a child, she admitted to her planning to kill you."

Aria scoffed, hardly believing what she was hearing. The girl was a dainty thing, dirty, short and with a wild look in her eyes. When the Batarian pushed the girl forward she landed at the feet of Aria.

"You want to kill me, child?" Aria said, amused for the first time that night. She wondered silently how old the girl could be, guessing human ages were so hard. Maybe 10? Maybe 13? She was clearly a child.

"Yes," the girl said her voice dark and hostile but she offered no other information.

"Stand up," Aria ordered and chuckled when the girl didn't comply, "you want to kill your queen but cannot even stand up?"

The girl looked up, locked her angry black eyes into Aria's blue, amused ones. She stood up slowly, quivering slightly, she was clearly in some form of physical pain.

"Good girl," Aria said, "now, how did you plan to kill me?"

"With a gun," the girl replied.

Aria chuckled now, her whole being filled with delight. _Oh, this was fun!_

"Where is this gun of yours, child?" She asked and the girl lowered her head before answering. Aria took the moment of silence to study the girl. She was probably just some Omega orphan, she was wearing a dirty dress, no shoes, her hair long but untidy and dirty. She showed no sign of womanhood but her eyes held some form of maturity, which put her somewhere between twelve and thirteen in human years, Aria guessed.

"I don't have one," the girl eventually said and her face turned red; the girl was feeling stupid about her lack of weapon.

Aria rolled her eyes, feeling her amusement drain away almost as quickly as it had surfaced.

"Stupid girl," she said, "should I just throw you in an airlock and be done with you?" Aria asked the question expecting cries and protests but instead the girl nodded slowly.

"Yes please," the girl said and started turning towards the Batarian again, expecting him to take her to her death.

Aria leaned forward, of all the reactions a death sentence could conjure this was not one she had expected , especially not from a child.

"You have a death wish?" She asked but the girl didn't answer, just kept standing there, looking down on the floor. Behind her stood Aria's underlings, wondering if they should take the child to the nearest airlock or not.

"Leave us," Aria said and waved her hand towards them in a dismissive gesture. She wanted to talk alone with the girl, she was once again intrigued. But she did not need anyone seeing her talking with a child, especially not if she had to be…_ugh, nice _… in order to get some answers out of her.

When it was just the child and the queen of Omega left, Aria nodded towards the sofa but the girl shook her head and instead sat down on the floor. Pulled her knees up to her chin and put her arms around herself in a defensive manner.

"You dislike the couch," Aria said, "you know, many people would kill to get to sit here and there has definitely never been a child sitting on it."

"I'm not a child," the girl had found her voice again.

"Oh, you aren't?" Aria said in a mocking tone, "you could have fooled me."

"I'm twelve… I think." The child said but even if she had started talking again did not leave her uncomfortable spot on the floor.

"Why don't you want to sit on the couch?" Aria asked, her interest was back and she thought that she might as well have fun with the girl, even if she would eventually throw her out of an airlock. _Child or not, nobody fucks with Aria._

"Because," the girl said, her voice ice-cold, "I am going to kill you." She looked up at Aria and her gaze was filled with so much hatred and anger that Aria could almost taste it on her tongue.

"Why do you hate me?" Aria said, "I have never met you."

The girl moved her eyes away from Aria's face and instead watched the dancer that was dancing on the right side of Aria.

"Why do you have your couch here?" The girl asked, her voice still filled with contempt, but apparently not ready to tell why she wanted Aria dead, "why do you want to see them dance all the time?"

Aria sighed, wondering how she was going to explain how nice it was to watch the dancers once you had gone through puberty.

"I think it is beautiful," the asari finally settled with and the girl nodded.

"I guess it is," she said begrudgingly and a little angrily.

"Why do you want to kill me?" Aria pressed again.

The girl moved her face one more time so that she was facing the ceiling, when she moved her gaze down again to face Aria her face was striped with tears.

"Because I promised," she said and swallowed, trying to hold back more tears, "I promised my sister. She heard you once, saw you on some screen. You said you were the queen of Omega, as the queen, you let bad things happen."

The self-appointed queen didn't know what to answer at first.

"What did I let happen?" She asked and the girl stood up, walked slowly towards the couch and then sat down on it. As she was walking, Aria couldn't help but notice how completely starved the girl looked, not to mention that she was limping really badly. _The girl was in no shape to even walk, so how on Omega had she thought that she could successfully assassinate Aria?_

"I'm only sitting down because I'm in pain," the girl said but Aria didn't answer, still waiting for an answer to her previous question.

"You let us get hurt," the girl said after a few minutes of silence, "you let bad men hurt little girls all over this damn station. And you let them hurt us in the worst of ways. You let them kill my sisters. So I have to kill you."

Aria nodded slowly. She knew that bad things happened on Omega, usually she didn't give a damn but with the girl in front of her, she almost wished she could do something about it. But only almost, this was still Omega, the haven of criminals and bad people; Aria could not control everything.

"Bad things happen to people everywhere, on or off Omega."

"They said they couldn't wait," the girl continued, ignoring Aria's words, "they said that when we were women they would send us here to dance for you. To make money for them."

Aria couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust flowing through her body. Had any of her current dancers a past like this, she wondered, reminding herself to check the dancers' backgrounds later.

"I would rather you throw me out of an airlock instead of making me go back to them." The girl said after they had both sat in silence for another few minutes.

"Tell me who they are," Aria said, "I will personally kill them."

The girl looked up, bewilderment in her eyes.

"Would you?" She asked, not believing her little human ears.

"Yes, I would," Aria said calmly, "I can't believe you haven't done it yourself since you seem so eager to kill."

"It's not that I don't want to," the girl replied, "but around them I freeze up, I get scared and weak. Killing you seemed easier."

Aria couldn't help but snort wondering if she had ever been described as "easy to kill" before.

"You won't get to kill me," the queen of Omega said and the girl nodded.

"I think I knew that all along," the girl answered, "I was hoping that I would get killed in the fight, so I would never again have to return to these men."

"Look at me," Aria said and didn't continue until the girl was looking her straight in the eye, "you will never need to see those men again. You have my word."

The girl looked confused and relieved in the same time. Aria was feeling confused as well, cursing the fucking maternal instincts that the girl had brought out in her. She could see that the kid was tired however.

"What are the names of the men?" Aria asked, "And where do they live? I'm going to make sure that they never hurt anyone ever again."

The girl muttered some names that didn't mean anything to Aria, but the location she was familiar with. It was far from Afterlife though, how the girl had managed go get all that way on her own was very impressive.

"Are you tired?" Aria asked and the girl nodded, clutching a hand to her abdomen, "are you hurt?"

The girl nodded again.

"It always hurts," she said, "but lately it has been getting worse."

Aria stood up and called for one of her more trusted batarians, Anto Korragan.

"Anto," she said, "help this girl to my quarters. I'm not planning to go there for the rest of the night so she can sleep on my bed. Send someone female or asari to watch over her, someone who knows children, then come back to here. We are going hunting."

The girl had listened and stood up, clutching her stomach and almost falling over.

"Find her a physician as well," Aria roared, "the girl is hurt."

Anto nodded quickly even though he was very confused and walked up to the shaking girl to give her a hand.

"Wait," Aria exclaimed as they started leaving her, "what is your name?"

The girl's eyes looked up to her, curious, questioning.

"My name is Lucia," she eventually said and then continued walking.

…

Several hours later a happy but tired Aria was returning to her quarters. She had found the child-abusers and taken much pleasure in killing them. Now she wanted to see Lucia again and tell her what the queen of Omega was capable off.

As soon as she reached the door of her quarters the asari immediately sensed something was wrong.

A human doctor was standing outside, clearly waiting for Aria and fidgeting nervously with the datapad she was holding.

"What's going on here?" Aria asked.

"Our young patient," the doctor said, not daring to meet Aria's eyes, "she had suffered severe trauma to her body. She… she was also experiencing internal bleeding. During the night she started bleeding out but by the time anyone noticed what was happening it was already too late. She died an about an hour ago."

"What?" Aria roared, in shock. She had known that the girl was in pain but hadn't suspected anything life-threatening. The queen of Omega had been looking forward to telling Lucia that her tormentors could never touch her again.

Aria pushed the doctor away and went into her room and walked up to the figure lying on her bed, feeling powerless for the first time in years. There was nothing she could do.

Lucia looked as if she was asleep, looking very peaceful as she was truly free of her oppressors now. They would never hurt her again.

Aria didn't know what to do with her raging emotions; she couldn't even understand why she was feeling so upset in the first place. She turned to her trusted Batarian who was standing next to her.

"Anto," she said, her own cold voice back, "clean up in here."

Then the queen of Omega left the room, went back to Afterlife and took her place on the infamous couch. The world didn't seem the same to her, but Aria found to her relief that she still enjoyed watching her dancers and when a fight broke out that she had to stop she almost felt the same again.

She was where she belonged, on Omega, in Afterlife, on her couch, her home, her throne.


	2. Chapter 2 - Another chance

**Chapter 2 – Another chance**

A day came and went and Aria could not stop thinking about the girl who had wanted to kill her. Lucia had been so angry but still filled with so much courage and life, even when she was dying. Aria couldn't help but feel that the girl had reminded her of herself. Angry and determined.

As much as Aria was sad about the fate of Lucia she still felt that Omega was perfect. It was the only place where people could be truly free, even though it came with a cost. Aria was a firm believer that one had to choose between freedom and security and Aria would always choose freedom. Both for herself and her subjects.

Aria gave herself a moment of weakness. Leaned forward and put her face in her hands. Breathed in, breathed out, felt the beat of the music in her bones. The pulse and beat usually made her feel safe and alive, now it felt as if every tone was hitting her, slowly creating a headache. _What is wrong with you? _Aria thought to herself. She swallowed her confusing thoughts and sat up straight again, plastered a confident smile on her lips and motioned for her underlings to bring her a dancer. Aria was in desperate need of entertainment.

…

A knock on the door made Aria look up from her place between the young asari's legs.

"What?" she said in an annoying voice.

It was Anto's voice.

"We have found something… I believe that you should see it."

"Go away," Aria said in a dark voice, wanting to resume the more pleasant activities that had been making her forget about little girls and people hurting them.

"Sorry, Aria," the voice continued, "I'm afraid I have to insist."

Aria sighed once more, wiped her mouth and stood up. Threw the dancer her clothes and picked up her own jacket. She never got naked. After putting her jacket on she opened the door and walked out.

"What?" She said in a dreary voice when she was face to face with Anto. The batarian was clearly uncomfortable about something, almost pacing on the spot. The queen of Omega almost rolled her eyes again, she was sure that whatever Anto had to tell her was tedious and not at all exciting.

"There has been complains of children crying."

One of Aria's eyebrows shot up in the air. _What the fuck? _There had been complaints about children crying on Omega. These complaints had been brought to the queen of Omega. _And Aria had thought yesterday had been weird!_

"So? You are only supposed to interrupt me with important matters, Anto."

"Well… these children, they were in the house where we killed a few men yesterday."

Aria's eyes went wide but she tried to not show any emotion.

"Children?" She asked, "plural? Lucia's sisters?"

"Yes Aria." Anto nodded, "One asari infant and one human girl. The asari infant is alive and well but the girl… well, she appears to be in a coma."

"Where are they now?" Aria asked.

"Well, the infant has been taken in by the asari family that found them but no one wanted the girl. I was advised to just leave her where she was but I thought… well, with the events of last night you might want to… well, bring her here."

Aria forced herself to laugh even though her insides were boiling.

"You thought you would bring her here? What do you think of me? I'm not some soft matron who just has to help every kid who crosses my path. But sure, bring her here, she in a coma anyway. How much trouble can she cause?" All that had been said with no emotion, but Aria had to admit to herself that she was indeed feeling something, even if this something wasn't something that the queen of Omega could put into words.

…

Later that evening Aria made sure no one noticed as she slipped into the room that the little girl was resting in. She had now been seen by physicians and was indeed in a coma even if the doctors weren't sure why. Physically the girl was fine, sure too skinny and not in prime health but they couldn't find anything _wrong _with her. She was not hurt like Lucia had been.

Aria walked up to the bed. The girl appeared younger than Lucia had been; otherwise she was just as tiny, undernourished and dirty. _As soon as she wakes up,_ _I will make sure she gets a shower; _Aria thought to herself but didn't know where the thought had originated. Surely, she was not _keeping _the girl?

The asari sat down next to the girl and stroked some black hairs out of the face. Had Lucia died to avenge this little creature? Without thinking Aria reached out, touched the girl's cheek and initiated a meld to figure out why the girl wouldn't wake up.

At first Aria experienced nothing, just a sad emptiness. Then she felt a presence and suddenly it was as if she heard a voice.

_Who are you?_ It was the girl's voice, small and frightened. Some part of her was still conscious.

_My name is Aria, what is yours? _Aria thought towards the girl, her own tone softer than she had managed in years.

_My name is Lakshmi _

_Lakshmi, _Aria tried, _are you Lucia's sister?_

A warmth flooded Aria's brain, brought on by the happy feelings the mentioning of Lucia caused the girl.

_Yes… where is she?_

Damn, Aria couldn't answer that right now, she just wanted Lakshmi to wake up.

_Lakshmi, will you wake up? _

_Where is my sister, Aria? Is she here?_

_No, she is not._

_Oh._

Aria almost swore under her breath. The conversation wasn't going the way she wanted. She could feel the girl withdrawing even deeper.

_Lakshmi, that's a nice name. _The queen of Omega was trying, but fuck, it was difficult. She had no experience with children. She just needed Lakshmi to wake up; she didn't even know why. The girl didn't answer. Aria had to keep trying.

_How old are you girl? _

_I am six years old. I think. Lucia used to celebrate my birthdays. _

_Lakshmi, why are you asleep?_

_Because it is dangerous for me to be awake._

_Will you wake up if I say I will protect you?_

_Maybe…_

Aria had to breathe; she severed the meld for a few minutes to anchor her own thoughts. But after just a minute she put her fingers on Lakshmi's arm and went into the girl's mind once more.

_Aria? Is that you again? Why did you go? I got scared._

_It is me again._

_Good. Where is Lucia?_

_I can tell you later, but first you have to wake up._

_If I wake up the bad men will get me._

_No, they won't. I killed them. For Lucia and for you. They will never hurt anyone else again._

The girl remained silent but then Aria felt, in the physical world, how the girl started to stir. She let go of Lakshmi's unconsciousness and opened her eyes. Lakshmi was indeed waking up. The girl groaned and then opened her eyes carefully.

"Aria?" She asked in a voice that was more childish in the real world than it had been in the meld. Her eyes were black like Lucia's but her vision wasn't dead. There was still some innocence in her, innocence that Lucia hadn't had.

"Yes," Aria said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She had had a goal, to wake the girl up. Now when that was achieved, she wasn't sure what to do.

"Will you take care of me now?" Lakshmi asked, her question asked with an innocence that made Aria's heart ache.

The queen of Omega swallowed a couple of times. This was out of her comfort zone. But there was only one answer she could give.

"Yes I will take care of you."

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**I'm basically just trying out an idea. Still not sure how the story is going to go. Let me know how I'm doing or if anyone has any suggestions!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Another day

**Sorry for late update! My dog ate my the powercord for my computer and so I haven't been able to write for over a week. **

**It's a little bit different now, but don't worry, you are going to follow most important parts of Lakshmi's life and in chapter four I will finally start working on Aria's and Tevos' relationship.**

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**Chapter 3 – Another day**

It had been almost 120 years since that day when Lakshmi had entered Aria's life, and there hadn't been a day when the human had not been on Aria's thoughts at least briefly. But there was one thing that Aria had not remembered when agreeing to take care of the very human girl. Asaris live for hundreds of years, a human was lucky if they reach just one hundred and as much time as Aria got with her adoptive daughter it was never enough.

…

It was a usual day. Aria was back on Omega after a longer trip visiting a certain human family on Illium. She was feeling… well, she was feeling something more than just her usual emotional spectrum of boredom, amusement or anger. But there was no time to dwell on it, life is what it is, and Aria had no time to show weakness, not in her position. Not to mention that there were rumors of the famous Commander Shepard coming to Omega.

A smile formed on Aria's lips when she heard one of her trusted batarians telling her visitors that they should talk with her. Apparently her bouncers had simply let Shepard walk into Afterlife.

She stood up and turned her back to the stairs, anything for a little dramatic effect, and when she heard steps behind her she motioned for her underlings to hold their guns up.

"That's close enough," she said and smiled at the sound of guns clicking. _Oh how good it is to be in charge. _Without turning around, and still reveling at the feeling of being in power, she nodded for the closest batarian to start scanning Shepard to confirm her identity. She had been dead after all.

"I was told that you are the one to talk to if I had any questions." An impatient female voice said and started arguing with the batarian holding the scanner. A small struggle commenced with the batarian eventually giving up and stepping aside.

"They seem clean," he said and Aria finally turned around.

She eyed Shepard curiously.

"Depends on the question," Aria said and couldn't help to smirk just a little bit.

"You run Omega?"

This made Aria laugh. _What a question!_

She spun around, facing the swirling of pink and purple behind her and raised her hands up.

"I _am _Omega!" She turned around to see the questioning expression that had formed on Shepard's face. Aria continued smiling.

"But you need more," she said, "Everyone needs more something. And they all come to me. I am the boss, CEO, queen if you are feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule," Aria sat down, and tilted her head to the side, "don't fuck with Aria." With those last words she couldn't help but smile again. She loved the feeling of power she got when saying those words. She also loved presenting herself; it gave her so much satisfaction especially if it was to someone who was nearly as powerful and deadly as herself.

She eyed Shepard as she would an opponent, wondering what reaction she would get from the woman in front of her. To her absolute glee, the commander smiled and flashed an equally cocky grin.

"I like it," Shepard said, "it's easy enough to remember. And I have something similar."

Aria liked the answer but could never let her guard down. She gestured towards another batarian.

"If you forget, someone will remind you." As much as some people claimed that it was cowardly of Aria to have other people take care of her fights, ordering people around was incredibly satisfying. And no one could say that Aria could not take care of her own fights. She was undefeated since the time she was a mere 79 and her younger sister's girlfriend had cheated on her; needless to say Aria had been on thin ice taking on the much older and skilled asari.

But Shepard seemed okay and Aria gladly gestured for her to sit on the sofa, and that is not something she did every day. Not many people were invited to sit on the famous couch of Omega.

Shepard sat down and Aria gracefully turned her head in the human's direction, as if playing the role of a gracious monarch.

"So," she said, "what can I do for you?"

…

After Shepard had left, Aria sat back on the couch feeling boredom settling over her like a familiar blanket. What _was _she going to do the rest of the day? She hated the feelings of apathy she always got after her visits to Illium.

…

_Aria had quickly come to the solution that little Lakshmi couldn't actually stay on Omega. It was no place for a child and Aria led no life that could include the girl. But Lakshmi was healthier and stronger and the queen of Omega felt like she had finally found a family that was perfect for her. _

_ "Lakshmi?" Aria called out to as she walked into the little room that had served as Lakshmi's bedroom during the past couple of months. She needed to do this carefully, as tactless and heartless as the asari could be she knew that this issue had to be approached with care._

_ "Aria!" The little girl jumped up from the window where she was sitting gazing out into space and ran to throw her little arms around Aria's waist. "Where were you?" The girl asked sounding so bossy it made Aria chuckle._

_ "I had some matters to take care of." She said and sat down on a little sofa that stood by the door and pulled the girl onto her lap. She kissed the girl's forehead but couldn't help to cringe at the feel of human hair. Aria hated hair. _

_ "But you are staying with me now, right?" The girl prodded, talking with the selfishness of a child who thinks the world revolves around them. _

_ Aria sighed and asked Lakshmi to look at her. The little girl looked up and a frown formed on her face._

_ "What is it?" _

_ Aria sighed again, but then swallowed any conflicting emotions._

_ "Listen, little girl. It is time that you move to a proper family."_

_ "What do you mean?" The girl's voice carried a hint of stubbornness. "You said you were going to take care of me. You are my family."_

_ "You can't stay on Omega. It is no place for a child." Aria knew this was for the best but it didn't make it any easier._

_ "You don't want me anymore?" Tears were forming in the little human's eyes._

_ "You know I do…" Aria started despite herself but quickly lost her patience when Lakshmi actually burst her tears._

_ "Stop crying," Aria said, now in a stern voice, "I will come and visit you. I will still make sure that nobody will hurt you again. But you can't, under any circumstances, stay on Omega."_

_ Lakshmi stopped crying, she was not used to Aria almost snapping at her. She dried her eyes quickly and pulled away from Aria's embrace and stood up._

_ "Where am I going?" She asked, any emotion gone from her voice. It hurt Aria that the girl had so clearly retreated into herself again but the queen knew that this was for the best._

_ "There is a nice human and asari family that lives on Illium. They have several asari daughters, who will be your sisters, but the human wife wants a human child as well. You will be that child. They will take good care of you."_

_ Lakshmi nodded without looking at Aria, making the asari feel desperate._

_ "Lakshmi," Aria tried in a soft voice, "I will come and visit you, okay? I promise."_

_ Later that afternoon Lakshmi was put on a shuttle with several of Aria's most trusted batarians. The girl had been completely quiet and solemn until the shuttle doors shut between them, then the girl had suddenly jumped up and started banging with her little fists on the door._

_ "Aria!" she had called, "Aria, don't make me go! Please, Aria, I want to stay with you! Aria, Aria, Aria…!" The queen had ignored it; she had not even turned around to see the shuttle leave. _

_ Instead the asari was walking with confident steps back to Afterlife, to another day of fighting and strippers. Behind her the cries of a scared little girl echoed._


	4. Chapter 4 - When I grow up

**Okay, I'm not too sure of this chapter and re-wrote it about three times but I hope it is okay now. **

**Thank you for all the response! It really warms my heart and does help motivate me to keep writing.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 4 – When I grow up… **

"How do you propose I fix this?" Aria's voice was calm, uncaring, laced with a hint of boredom and even though Councilor Tevos tried to keep he usual calm she was boiling with rage on the inside. Whenever there were any disputes or issues concerning Aria T'loak the other Matriarchs always came to her, relying on her to fix it. As if she held some key to controlling the queen of criminals, which Tevos assured everyone she didn't. Aria just tended to call on her from time to time, usually asking for favors and since it was partly Tevos' responsibility as a councilor to keep outright war between the Terminus systems and Citadel space from breaking out, she mainly had to do what she could to keep Aria happy.

But right now, the asari matriarch had almost had enough. Aria was acting like a child, refusing to even remotely deal with the issue at hand. A whole newly established colony had been attacked by pirates who kept their base on the Omega station and even if the councilors usually never retaliated the loss in lives and peace demanded them to do something this time. So Tevos had, obedient as ever, called Aria up. Now she wished she hadn't.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but something has to be done. People on this side are angry, and if they retaliate now we might be facing full on war and…"

Aria interrupted her.

"So? Maybe war is exactly what we need. Things have been growing dull lately and my people are bored."

Aria was still sounding incredibly calm but there was a hint of danger somewhere in that voice. Tevos tried to keep calm but it was difficult.

"What do you mean? Even you can't be stupid enough to actually desire war!" Tevos could have bit her lip and grew quiet. She waited for the laughter that an outburst of hers usually caused. Aria loved frustrating her and the queen loved that she seemed to be only one who could make Tevos break the usual calm façade. But no laughter came. Tevos inspected the holo-vision of Aria. The queen of Omega had been keeping a façade of her own apparently but now she was tired. She looked away from her omnitool, not letting Tevos see her face or read her expression.

"Aria," Tevos said, "have you been to Illium?" Tevos didn't expect any reaction from the other asari but at the mentioning of Illium Aria twitched. The asari then moved her gaze, looking straight into the eyes of Tevos.

"Huh, and I recall you swearing that you would never mention something again. Did I dream that?" Her voice was full of an unsaid threat but Tevos ignored it. She was right, it was clearly about that human again and she knew better than to push it. Instead she let it go immediately.

"Aria, will you threat your people into not attacking any important colony? The council has other more important matters."

"I will make no promises." Aria said shortly and without any warning turned off the call. She was done talking with Tevos, the matriarch always managed to get on her nerves one way or another and Aria hated the way she always felt she had to prove something to the asari councilor. If only Tevos hadn't seen Aria's only weak moment; if only Tevos hadn't been there the day the old lady Lakshmi died.

…

_ Aria stayed true to her promise and visited Lakshmi as often as she deemed necessary. In the beginning she visited the girl almost every month but soon the distance between the visits grew. By the time Lakshmi turned twelve she was lucky if she saw her rescuer once a year. _

_ There was especially one trip that Aria would always remember. It was, after all, the day when she realized that Lakshmi was no longer a little girl. Usually when Aria visited Lakshmi the girl would throw herself around Aria's neck and basically hold the matriarch's hand until it was time for Aria to leave. That time had been different. _

_…_

_ "Oh hello!" A young asari opened the door, "Miss T'loak, come in, come in. I'll call Lucky." Aria entered the house and greeted Lakshmi's adoptive mothers while Lakshmi's little asari sister called her name. There were some gentle steps in the stairs and then 16-year-old Lakshmi appeared. She had let her hair grow long and she had grown a lot since Aria's last visit. When the girl reached Aria and reached out to hug her rescuer Aria noticed that Lakshmi was almost as tall as her now. When the girl let go of Aria's embrace she gestured towards the living room._

_ "Lucky?"_

_ "Yes mum?" Lakshmi looked questioningly at her mother._

_ "Should I prepare some tea?"_

_ "No, that's okay," Aria answered before Lakshmi had a chance, "I will not be staying long."_

_ They entered the living room together and sat down on a sofa. Aria couldn't help but smile. Why was it that whenever she was visiting somewhere she always found herself sitting on a couch? Then the asari noticed that the girl was being uncharacteristically quiet, usually she would be chattering Aria's ears off by now, telling her about her year, or new friends or things she had done in school. Instead the girl was sitting still, her dark curtain of hair covering most of her face._

_ "I've read about Omega in school," Lakshmi eventually said._

_ "Is that so?" _

_ "Yeah," Lakshmi nodded, "and the Terminus systems too." _

_ "And what have you learned?"_

_ "Well, I have learned lots of boring facts. But we were also taught about you."_

_"What lesson is this? Bad people 101?" It was a joke but Aria still wanted to know what kind of teachers taught 16-year-old humans about criminals._

_ Lakshmi giggled a little bit._

_ "Actual it's a class on notorious contemporary criminals. My school is the only one that gives it. I only took it so that I could learn about you." Aria sighed, wondering where this was going. She had never hid what she was, she never would. She felt no shame and even Lakshmi's adoptive mothers let her in their house even if they didn't like to have a criminal in it._

_ "Why do you want to learn about me? And about Omega? You could have just asked me you know."_

_ Lakshmi shook her head._

_ "I never see you anymore and you wouldn't answer the questions I have. Besides I need the extra credit and this class helps me towards my goal."_

_ "What goal would that be, little girl?"_

_ Lakshmi put on an almost annoyed face._

_ "Don't call me that," she said in a voice that surprised Aria, "I am not a little girl anymore."_

_ But to Lakshmi's annoyance the queen of Omega simply chuckled._

_ "Lakshmi, you will always be a little girl to me. I am over half a millennium older than you. Now, what goal do you have?"_

_ Lakshmi looked up, pride in her eyes and then she uttered the words that made Aria's blood run cold._

_ "One day," the girl said, "one day I am going to be a Spectre."_


	5. Chapter 5 - Visits

**The nurse is an OC, Chakwas' niece and can be found in my other fics 'Belle and Jack' and 'Jack and Belle'. She was put here because I promised :)**

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**Chapter 5 – Visits**

_Much to Lakshmi's annoyance the asari next to her did not react the way that she had anticipated but rather burst out laughing. _

_ "A spectre," Aria said after she stopped chuckling, "a spectre little girl? Where did you get such a ridiculous idea? Humans can't be spectres!" _

_ Lakshmi pouted and irritably turned away from Aria. The asari would never take her serious. Didn't matter if Lakshmi actually managed to become a spectre, to the pirate queen she would always be Lakshmi, the helpless Omega orphan. The girl felt herself grow angry. _

_ "Now, hey," Aria said, her voice cheerful, "don't sulk. It is great to have goals little one, but I would suggest that…"_

_ Lakshmi stood up._

_ "Don't call me that," she yelled, "I am not little. I am not helpless. If I want to be a spectre I can be a spectre! And you cannot stop me!" With that the girl spun around and ran out of the room. _

_ Aria didn't move a muscle; she had simply sat still as her protégé yelled at her. Her legs crossed, one arm casually lain on the back of the couch. Lakshmi's sudden tantrum had surprised her but Aria, as was usual, did not show surprise. _

_ "What happened?" One of Lakshmi's mothers had entered the room._

_ Aria gestured dismissively._

_ "Who knows?" She said, "Who knows why humans do anything." She threw a look at Lakshmi's very human mother. _

_ "She talks about you all the time you know." The human sat down on the sofa opposite of the asari, looking brave and uncertain in the same time. Neither of Lakshmi's mothers particularly liked Aria even though they had been happy to raise the girl for her. The asari was openly scared of Aria, the human tried to be braver. Aria knew that they wished that they could simply cut the criminal out of their lives but because of Lakshmi they were stuck with her. Aria didn't know if she was ready to give up seeing Lakshmi all together, if she even could stand it. She enjoyed seeing the girl and it was nice to be needed._

_ "We wish that she would grow up. Stop talking about you like a knight in shining armor. Have normal interests like her sisters, rather than crime, criminals and Omega." _

_ "I never encouraged her." Aria said, feeling irritated. It was not her job to raise Lakshmi; that was why she had sent her away. _

_ The woman in front of her swallowed, gathering courage._

_ "It doesn't matter. Every time you come and visit you encourage her."_

_ "I will leave then." Aria stood up. If Lakshmi wouldn't talk with her there was no reason to stay. "Tell Lakshmi whatever you want." _

_ Upstairs in her room, Lakshmi was sitting by the window looking at the people outside. There weren't that many humans on Illium and apart from her mother and one or two classmates the girl never met other humans. She didn't even feel human. She wanted to be asari, like her sisters… like Aria._

_ She heard the front door open and saw to her distress Aria exit and start walking away. Before she could think the girl stood up and ran downstairs and out the door._

_ "Aria," she called out._

_ "What?" Aria called back, sounding annoyed, "I though you didn't want to talk with me."_

_ "No, I…" Lakshmi didn't know what to say. She had wanted Aria to be proud of her, to talk with her, maybe teach her things. Instead Aria had treated her the same as she had always done, but Lakshmi wasn't the same, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She had feelings which did not belong to a little girl and she experienced dreams that she would never tell anyone about. More than anything she would never tell anyone that Aria sometimes frequented those dreams._

_ Eventually Lakshmi spoke._

_ "I can't help that I am human." _

_ With that she turned around and went back into the house, leaving a very puzzled Aria behind. She shook her head, _humans are so strange sometimes_. She contemplated going after Lakshmi and asking her what was wrong but decided against it, remembering her own adolescence several hundred years earlier, she really had been a hormonal, dramatic maiden. Aria supposed that Lakshmi was going through something similar. _

_ She kept walking._

_…_

The same afternoon as Tevos had called Aria; the queen of Omega called a meeting with some of her allies throughout the Terminus Systems. She had known about the attack on the colony, and she had briefly thought of stopping it before it happened, but most of her hadn't cared. And she did have other things on her mind, the plague that was eating through Omega was still killing lots of people every day and there had been reports of collectors. The asari had more than enough on her plate.

After a very successful meeting, getting the criminals to partly give back their loot to the survivals on the colony, Aria was heading back to Afterlife. She was greeted by people left and right, everyone wanting to get a glimpse of her. Aria carried herself like a queen, enjoying the attention and reveling in how she had managed to rise to power from just being a mere dancer.

_Speaking of dancer_. There was a new one, pretty young thing. Just Aria's type too. Aria couldn't help but look at her a bit longer as she was walking through her nightclub and up to her sofa. She reminded herself to invite the dancer to dance by her side later. Only Aria's favorite dancers got to dance up on her platform.

To Aria's surprise her couch wasn't empty when she arrived but rather occupied by four people, one of them was Commander Shepard, sporting a happy and satisfied grin. Next to her sat that Salarian Doctor, who in turn sat next to a young human woman who looked very insecure and then on Shepard's other side sat a Turian, whom Aria assumed must be Archangel.

As annoyed as the pirate queen was to find her sofa so incredibly occupied, she couldn't help but chuckle at Shepard's grin.

"Sorry," the commander said, not sounding sorry at all, "We have been waiting for quite a while; we got tired so we sat down."

Aria raised one eyebrow and gestured for her unwanted guests to move so that she could sit down.

"Why are you here?" She asked sounding bored, "and more importantly, who are these people?" She motioned towards Garrus and the human stranger.

"This is the infamous Archangel," Shepard motioned towards Garrus, "and this is Belle Chakwas, she is the nurse on board my ship. I took her with me to assist with the plague."

"Hmf," Aria replied, "why are you here?"

Shepard didn't answer but rather handed Aria a datapad. Aria reached over and took it, quickly reading the information. Apparently the Blood Pack, the Blue suns and Eclipse had teamed up, hoping to overthrow her after defeating Archangel. _What the hell?_

Aria quickly flicked the datapad at her batarian security advisor.

"Why the fuck did I not know about this?"

The batarian mumbled something while leaning down to pick up the datapad that was lying on the floor.

Aria rolled her eyes at him and turned back towards Shepard.

"Thank you, Shepard. And I understand that the plague has been taken care of?" That last question was directed to Mordin.

"Taken care of. Yes. Caused by Vorcha."

Aria nodded and was about to ask something else when a female voice interrupted her. It was the nurse.

"Sorry, Miss T'loak, if I may," the girl said, "there are still a lot of people dying, if there was any way to improve hygiene for the poorest and make medicine available, it would…"

"You may not," Aria cut her shortly and turned to Shepard once more, "are we done here then? I have some… _business _to attend to."

Shepard nodded and stood up.

"Come on," she said to the rest and gave the nurse a rather affectionate smile, "don't worry too much. You helped."

As Aria watched the girl returned the smile but did not look convinced. Apparently she really cared about the people of Omega. Then the people left and Aria was alone once more. The asari searched her mind wondering what her next step should be against the plans to overthrow her.


	6. Chapter 6 -Conspiracy

**Chapter 6 – Conspiracy**

"I have a job for you. Spread the word that Tarak, Jaroth and Garm were all killed by Shepard on my orders." Aria said to her batarian security operative which was standing in front of her in what one might call her office.

"But…" the poor soul in front of her tried but Aria wouldn't listen.

"I don't care if you have to dance to get their attention, but I expect the current leaders of Eclipse, Blood Pack and Blue sons to know by this afternoon." Aria's voice was soft, calm and threatening; perfect for getting her underlings to do her bidding. She gestured dismissively at the person in front of her who immediately left the room.

Aria stood up. Her office was a circular room that didn't hold a desk but a dresser with her things and her bed where she only occasionally slept. It wasn't the same bed that Lucia had died in, no that thing had been thrown out with Lucia's limp body. Aria had wanted no reminders.

Her omnitool buzzed and woke the queen of criminals up from her line of thought. Without checking who it was she answered.

"Speak."

"Yes, hello Aria," it was Tevos' calm and collected voice on the other end, "I was just calling to see if you had dealt with the issue that we talked about the other day."

Aria sighed, annoyed.

"Yes, I have dealt with it," she said and then added sarcastically, "I asked them very kindly to apologize or they would get a time-out."

"Good," Tevos replied, "But there is another reason I am calling. Your visits to Illium this year has not gone unnoticed. The other Matriarchs have voiced a concern that you are extending your criminal activities to Citadel space."

Aria looked up.

"Are my kids in danger?" She asked in a low voice.

Tevos was quiet for a while, long enough for worry to tug at Aria's soul.

"I'm afraid they have already taken them."

"WHAT? Who?"

"Yes," Tevos' voice remained calm, "they are safe, but have been shipped to the Citadel. The Matriarchs are trying to figure out why you keep visiting and supporting three human children. I just wanted to t…"

"Where?" Aria interrupted her, "I'm coming to get them right away." With that the queen of Omega turned off the call.

"No, Aria, I…" Tevos stopped talking when she noticed that Aria had already hung up on her. _Damn it. _The asari councilor had known that she shouldn't have called Aria with this information, but she also knew that she had too. She had seen sides of Aria that most probably didn't think existed; she knew that if Aria cared about anything or anyone it was those three humans who were right now locked up somewhere on the citadel. Tevos wasn't sure where, or what she would do when Aria arrived, she just knew that trouble was up ahead.

…

_ Aria never visited Lakshmi in her home again. She didn't want the girl to be a spectre, and she didn't feel like imposing where she was not wanted. Instead she lived her life, continuing as usual, sending funds to Lakshmi's mothers as she had promised. She started hiring human dancers, instead of just the previously asari and also one turian who had been specifically requested by some of Afterlife's regulars. An Omega rebellion rose and was conquered. For the queen of Omega, life was life again. _

_ In the beginning, Lakshmi continued writing to Aria, as the girl had done ever since she mastered writing and reading, but as the years flew by fewer and fewer letters came. Five years came and went, barely a moment in the lifetime of an asari but Aria neglected the fact that for a human girl, the time span between the ages 16 to 21, many things can happen._

_ It had started as a usual day, Aria had lazily enjoyed the morning with one of her dancers in bed. Then she had been called to have a look at some dancer auditions. Afterlife had a big turn-over of both customers and dancers, people were always moving or getting killed and because of this there were auditions for dancers almost every month._

_ Aria sat back on her sofa and watched as the human went in front of her and started moving; swaying to the music. She was short but knew how to move, using her long dark hair as an accessory. Despite herself, Aria had to be impressed, this human moved as an asari and her hair didn't look revolting as Aria usually found human hair but rather beautiful and inviting. Aria nodded to the batarian on her right. _Yes, this girl can stay. _Then she leaned back, placed her arm on the back of her head and rested her head on it, still watching the woman. _

_ Aria didn't know where the sudden inclination came from, but she stood up and walked up to the woman, who had stopped dancing and was simply staring into the floor as Aria approached her. Aria reached out and made the woman face her but then had to take a step back in shock._

_ For a human girl, the time span between the ages 16 to 21 can hold so many events and feelings. It can hold the secret to why a 16 year old girl, with ambitions to become a spectre, would one day find herself auditioning to become a dancer on Omega. Lakshmi was back on the station where she had been born and this time she had no intention of leaving. _

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**I hope you are all enjoying the story! I'm trying to update as often as I can, but this story is proving itself somewhat difficult to write. I have another story, based on Dragon Age II, that I'm going to start writing in hope that it is going to lift my writers' block. Don't worry, I am going to continue this one too, I'm just not sure when.**

**Oh, and if anyone has any ideas or want something specific happen in this story, please write to me through PM or review, I really need ideas for this one.**

**Thank you for all reviews/follows/favourites!**

**/Magdelope**


	7. Chapter 7 - Aria's heart

**So basically I noticed that my last chapter seven totally sucked so I rewrote it. I'm still not sure about this, but I hope you will all like it. **

**And all credit goes to the amazing Rae D. Magdon for coming up with Thea Tevos' name!**

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**Chapter 7 – Aria's heart**

****_Life had not been kind to Lakshmi. Her dreams of becoming a spectre were shot down by a turian teacher who made sure that Lakshmi was aware that the council would never make a human a spectre. Humans were still new in the galaxy and there weren't that many options, especially for one who had no ties to the human community except a human mother who had long since left all her human life behind. The girl turned eighteen and graduated but showed no interest in applying for university, she got a job for an asari called Aethyta helping out in a bar. Her mothers hated it but Lakshmi found that the insides of the bar reminded her of Aria. As the time passed by Lakshmi longed for Aria and Omega more and more. Illium was getting riddled with crime and when Lakshmi's sister was accepted at the academy for future C-sec agents, the family decided to relocate to the Citadel. Lakshmi didn't want to and was relieved when Aethyta took her in. The older asari was recently divorced and in need of some company and had taken a liking to the girl. _

_ Lakshmi missed Aria, even though she didn't know why, she didn't even _know _Aria but the girl had developed some form of hero worship for the pirate queen. When she accidently overheard two asaris discussing dancing in Afterlife, Lakshmi made a decision. She was going to go to Omega, become a dancer and get, something she craved more than oxygen, Aria's attention. Before leaving Illium Lakshmi had scrutinized herself in front of the mirror, she was a woman now and she was beautiful. There was no doubt in Lakshmi's mind that she would get the job as a dancer, and then maybe, just maybe, Aria would see her. _

…

They were docking at the citadel now. Aria stood up and walked out of the shuttle, waving for her batarians not to follow her, they had never known about her human protégés and this was not about to change. Her underlings could have a vacation for all she cared, as long as they came to her aid when she needed it.

The queen of Omega got through immigration processing with no problem. _Thank you Tevos, _the asari thought to herself and then set course for the Presidium.

Thea Tevos was sitting by her desk but couldn't focus on the paperwork in front of her. Aria was on the citadel, Tevos had gotten word as soon as she had gone through security. The councilor felt herself tremble a little bit; she hadn't seen Aria in person for nearly 38 years and the last time things had changed between them. Aria had been _vulnerable_ and Tevos, with an aching heart, had done her best to comfort the pirate queen. Tevos searched her feelings, setting them in check and knew that she would be able to not let any feelings show. But the councilor had to admit to herself that she was almost… _looking forward _to seeing Aria again. To again be near the asari with the air of confidence that was almost magnetic.

Tevos' door slid open, revealing a very pissed of Aria. She walked in with confident steps to Tevos' desk as the door closed behind her again. The asari criminal put her hands on the desk and leaned forward.

"Do you know where they are?" She asked in her usual soft but dangerous voice.

Tevos stood up and graced her visitor with her usual gentle smile.

"Hello to you too."

"Listen _councilor," _Aria said, "I don't have time to play nice, so unless you or any other goddess-forsaken matriarch can tell me where my kids are, I am going to call every single ally I have in the Terminus systems. Then the matriarchs will see what it looks like when I _extend my criminal activities."_

Tevos sighed.

"Please Aria," she said, "Try to remain calm. Your _kids, _as you call them, are in no danger. I actually thought you would feel relieved."

"You think I want them back?" Aria asked and sounded outraged, "I don't want them back! If they can get normal lives with a human family far away from me, that would be the best. If I could just let them rot it would be good. But I can't because of one pesky promise," Aria's voice dropped an octave, "I have no emotional bond to three _humans. _I…"

Tevos didn't reply at first and instead scrutinized the asari in front of her. There was something in Aria's eyes that made her shudder. The criminal's blue eyes held the usual amount of anger and irritation but underneath that there was also some tenderness and perhaps even worry.

"I will help you any way I can," Tevos said and meant it. The councilor noticed to her slight alarm that she wanted to help Aria. She had been planning to send Aria on her way as soon as possible, nothing was worth risking her office's integrity for. But with the pirate queen in front of her Tevos found herself incapable of execution, she had to help Aria.


End file.
